Authonomy

Some interesting things are happening over at HarperCollins. Specifically on their new website ‘Authonomy‘.

I was curious about this new online community site and signed up for them to let me know when it was ready. The other day I got an invite to try their beta version. I registered, uploaded my picture and snooped around a bit.

Authonomy, in case you haven’t heard much about it, is a site where writers can upload their work. They ask for a minimum of 10,000 words and prefer the WHOLE manuscript. You retain the rights to it as the author, but yes of course there is nothing stopping someone from snatching your work. Anyway, anyone can read what is posted (agents, publishers, editors, dude next door, other writers, thieves, etc). If you are registered, you can comment on the work and add it to your bookshelf. The works that are the most popular among the site’s readers will then get read by some people at HarperCollins. The janitor. Kidding. Sort of.

Anyway, I suppose it is a free way to get your work out there and possibly get discovered.

The thing is…

It feels wrong.

I don’t know why, but my gut reaction is, ‘No.’ And I tend to be a somewhat early adopter of new fangled tech stuff.

I guess it is the fact that they want me to put my WHOLE work up there for free. Which is fine, I guess. Except that I want to make money with this work. I want people to buy it. Now I do understand that as a business person, you sometimes have to give things away. So, sure, I will give some copies away when it is in print. I will. Even if I have to buy them from the publisher myself. But I won’t give away shares in my company. Know what I am saying? This feels like giving away shares. And for what? In hopes that some conglomerate sees me and buys me out?

I won’t even get into the whole it could get stolen, plagiarized and all that nasty line of thought stuff.

The other thing is that you are putting it up on the HarperCollins website. What if I find an agent for this piece and a publisher that is NOT HarperCollins wants to publish it? How are they going to feel about the fact that I previously GAVE IT AWAY on the COMPETETORS website? Personally, if I were them, I would be like, ‘uh, NO!’

Am I crazy? Am I skipping out on the biggest thing since that damned sliced bread?

As an aside, while I was looking for a pic of sliced bread, I came across this (which in my opinion is waaaaaay cooler than sliced bread could ever be):

Later Note: I emailed an agent about this and they were kind enough to take the time to email me back. The advice was, post a chapter or two, but not the whole manuscript as a traditional publisher may then consider the electronic rights to be compromised due to the posting of it in its entirety.